The present invention relates to a temporary closure device for an opening element on a fixed chassis part of a motor vehicle.
Manufacturing chains for motor vehicles comprise chassis paint lines which are provided with opening elements, and particularly doors.
These opening elements are not yet equipped with closure or locking devices and it is therefore necessary to provide for temporary and removable closure devices which make it possible to maintain the opening elements in the closed position on the chassis during its transfer on the paint line.
Until now, temporary closure devices have been mounted in the location of the permanent lock using fixing members, such as screws, for example.
These devices are made up of metallic parts which have a lifespan at least equal to the duration of manufacturing of the vehicles on which they are used. The metallic parts risk damaging the chassis and/or the paint when they are placed or removed and they must regularly undergo various cleaning treatments, the frequency of which depends on the speed of fouling at each passage on the paint lines.
After cleaning, the temporary closure devices must undergo an operation on a control gauge to make them compliant once more.
Moreover, the devices for transferring between the paint lines and the cleaning center require transport infrastructure and significant investments.
A temporary closure device for an opening element on a fixed element is known, moreover, as illustrated in document EP 931 895 B1, resolving the preceding drawbacks, with a simple and economical design, not requiring any fixing member which allows greater ease and greater speed in placing and removing the device.
However, the device according to document EP 931 895 B1 has the drawback of comprising a tongue forming a means for retaining the opening element, which is subject to strong stresses and deformations during closure of the opening element on the fixed element. The stress to be overcome during this closure is therefore significant. Moreover, the bend radius of said tongue may cause the device to be covered in flakes of paint, which may constitute impurities that are particularly troublesome for later application of paint on the vehicle chassis.
The device according to the invention therefore aims to resolve the preceding drawbacks by proposing a temporary closure device for an opening element on a fixed chassis part of a motor vehicle, said opening element comprising a housing for receiving a lock and said fixed part comprising at least one tapped hole for fixing a strike, the device comprising a plastic body equipped with means for mounting same in the tapped hole, a first end of the device comprising a limit stop element which is intended to cooperate with a first rim of the housing as the opening element is being closed, while the second end of the device comprises a means for retaining the opening element in the closed position against the fixed part, which is intended to penetrate the housing behind a second rim thereof, the retaining means being formed by a resilient tongue which can bend under stress from the second rim when the opening element is moved from the free position to the closed position thereof, the area of the body that essentially corresponds to the base of the tongue extending into a plate which is suspended above a recessed area, the plate and the tongue being connected by means of an arch forming a flexible connection.